The invention relates to a method and a device for providing assistance when driving a vehicle and to a correspondingly equipped vehicle and to a corresponding computer program product.
When driving a vehicle, it is of essential importance to observe the environment. So-called driver assistance systems, which use sensors to detect the space around the vehicle and issue corresponding messages to a vehicle driver and/or intervene fully or partially in the control of the vehicle have been developed for this purpose. For example, the distance of the vehicle from a vehicle driving in front can be ascertained by use of a radar system and, if it falls below a minimum distance prescribed in a run-up alarm system, a warning is issued to the vehicle driver and/or automatic braking is initiated. The document DE 10 2012 210 145 A1 describes a so-called Automatic Cruise Control (ACC) system, in which the distance from an object, in particular from a vehicle driving in front, is measured and automatically controlled by means of an environment sensor, such as for example radar or lidar. It also describes specifically selecting a corresponding object and tracking the object along a driving path by use of automatic control of the lateral guidance and longitudinal guidance of the vehicle.
DE 10 2011 005 844 A1 discloses a method and a control system for the fully automatic driving of a vehicle with regard to its longitudinal guidance and lateral guidance, which are respectively controlled by a decision tree. In this case, a lateral movement of the vehicle is processed by a first decision tree, which comprises the states of staying in lane, changing lane to the left and changing lane to the right. Furthermore, a longitudinal movement of the vehicle is processed by a second decision tree, which comprises the states of controlling the speed to a setpoint speed and controlling the distance to a setpoint distance or safety distance. The first decision tree and the second decision tree are activated by an event generator, depending on an environmental condition of the vehicle that is determined by use of at least one sensor. Depending on at least one state of the first decision tree and/or of the second decision tree, at least one actuator of the vehicle is activated. DE 10 2011 083 677 A1 describes a method and a system with which the likely driving path or trajectory of a vehicle (a so-called ego vehicle) is predicted on the basis of various data and a traffic simulation, including the use of data of other vehicles.
US 2013/0338914 A1 likewise describes a method and a system with which, for determining the risk of a driving situation and, in particular, for the fully or partially automatic control of a vehicle (ego vehicle), data from the environment of the ego vehicle are detected and processed, for example in relation to the geographical position of the vehicle, in relation to the road conditions, in relation to the weather conditions or in relation to a current speed limitation. Data in relation to the ego vehicle, such as for example its model, age, service history, known defects, tire age or tire tread, may in this case also be detected and processed. Furthermore, data in relation to a driver of the ego vehicle may be detected and processed, for example data in relation to the driving ability of the driver. Furthermore, corresponding data in relation to vehicles and their vehicle drivers that are in the environment of the ego vehicle may be detected and processed. For determining the risk presented by such vehicles and vehicle drivers, it may be envisaged in particular to retrieve and use risk-determining data from a vehicle database or person database, for example also data in relation to the age, sex or state of health of the respective vehicle drivers. Data in relation to their consumption of alcohol, tobacco or medicaments or in relation to earlier anomalies in their driving behavior, in particular punishable by fines, such as for example as a result of speeding, accidents, skipping red lights or inebriation when driving, may in this case also be retrieved and used. The respective data and assessments may in this case be provided or processed in a respectively classified way.
EP 2 320 384 A1 describes a method for vehicle license plate recognition, in which vehicles are recorded by way of an optoelectronic camera, text data in relation to their respective license plate are formed from the images by Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and then, by means of a database, the assignment to vehicle license plate data stored there is performed. On the basis of such systems, it is possible for example to detect at motorway toll stations vehicles for which a toll has already been paid in advance, and accordingly a barrier at the toll station can be automatically opened for the vehicle to pass through.
The contents of the aforementioned publications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The object of the invention is to assist the driving of an ego vehicle to the extent that hazards in the environment of the ego vehicle are detected as well as possible.
This and other objects are achieved according to the invention by a method for assisting the driving of an ego vehicle, wherein:                information from the environment of the ego vehicle is gathered,        the information gathered is processed in such a way that it is detected whether there is a neighboring vehicle in the environment of the ego vehicle and, if a neighboring vehicle is detected, information in relation to the neighboring vehicle is also gathered and/or processed in order to assign at least one typical attribute to the neighboring vehicle, and        in dependence on the at least one typical attribute of the neighboring vehicle, control information for driving the ego vehicle is provided.        
The invention is based on the realization that it is possible for the vehicle driver of an ego vehicle to draw conclusions from the nature of a vehicle in his/her environment, in particular driving in front of him/her, as to how the vehicle will behave in road traffic and, in particular, what hazards will arise from the vehicle and what the driving style of the driver of the vehicle is likely to be.
With the invention it has been realized in particular that, on the basis of data that are gathered in relation to a vehicle located in the environment of the ego vehicle, future driving situations can be calculated or simulated more precisely in advance, and in particular possible hazardous situations can be detected at an early time or already assigned to a current driving situation. This is of advantage in particular for vehicles that have a high degree of automation, and in particular for those that are longitudinally and/or laterally guided fully automatically by way of corresponding control systems. Such systems may be provided in particular as components in highly automated driving (HAD) systems, which in turn have further system components such as radio-based communication systems for so-called car-to-car communication between vehicles and/or for communication with vehicle-independent computers, so-called backend servers.
With the invention, the driving of an ego vehicle can be assisted in particular to the extent that hazards arising from vehicles in the environment of the ego vehicle can be detected well. With the invention it is also advantageously possible to create for the vehicle driver of the ego vehicle a function assisting him/her, for example in the form of a graphic display, with which he/she can match up his/her individual appraisal of the traffic situation, and in particular with respect to the likely driving style of vehicles in his/her environment, with the information gathered by sensors and processed by data technology, and take this into consideration for how he/she drives the vehicle. The invention may also be used advantageously for highly automated driving vehicles.
With the invention it is possible to draw conclusions about the likely behavior of other road users in the environment of the ego vehicle. As a result, better planning or previewing can be advantageously performed for driving the ego vehicle. This is very advantageous in particular in the case of the highly automated controlling of vehicles. It also allows safety to be increased, both in the case of manually controlled vehicles and in the case of fully or partially automatically controlled vehicles, both for the ego vehicle and its occupants and for other road users. The invention can also be used whenever the vehicle driving in front is controlled in a fully or partially automated manner.
The environment of the vehicle is a prescribed area that lies around the vehicle. It does not necessarily have to be a contiguous area and it does not necessarily have to comprise all directions around the vehicle. In particular, a contiguous, two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial area may be regarded as the environment of the vehicle. It may lie around the vehicle within the maximum range of one or more sensor systems that generate data for carrying out one or more, in particular all, of the steps according to the invention. The surrounding area comprising the environment may be the spatial area for which such data are evaluated and/or used. The corresponding sensor system may for example comprise electronic, optical and/or radio sensors and/or components, such as for example a CCD camera, an infrared camera, a radar system, an ultrasound sensor, a mobile radio system, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system, etc.
In particular in accordance with information that has been gathered in relation to the vehicle owner and/or in relation to the vehicle driver presumed to be driving the vehicle, for example at least one of the following attributes may be assigned to a vehicle as a typical attribute:                driving safety, in particular on the basis of information in relation to the vehicle owner and/or presumed vehicle driver,        driving style, in particular on the basis of information in relation to the vehicle owner and/or presumed vehicle driver, and        condition of the vehicle.        
The respective attributes may be additionally allocated values in stages, for example in relation to driving safety values in the three stages high/normal/low, in relation to driving style values in the stages cautious/normal/competitive, in relation to the condition of the vehicle for example values in four stages good/moderate/poor/unroadworthy or values in two stages accident-damaged/accident-free, etc. As information in relation to the neighboring vehicle, its manufacturer designation, type designation, age, model, exterior condition, official license number, etc. may also be gathered and/or processed.
By use of the control information provided for driving the ego vehicle, it is possible for example to display an item of information corresponding to the assigned attribute on a human-machine interface (HMI) of the vehicle. For example, information indicating “warning—competitive driver driving behind you” may be issued on a display device for the driver of the ego vehicle. In this case, a corresponding symbol and/or acoustic information, for example in the form of an announcement or a warning tone, may also be issued.
In an advantageous exemplary embodiment of the invention, for providing the control information, attributes from a set of prescribed attributes are assigned to the neighboring vehicle on the basis of the information gathered in the environment of the ego vehicle. A corresponding database may be provided for this purpose in the ego vehicle and/or in an external computer connected by data link to the ego vehicle, for example a backend server.
In a further, advantageous exemplary embodiment of the invention, by way of at least part of the information gathered in relation to the neighboring vehicle, data with further information in relation to the neighboring vehicle are loaded from a vehicle-external data source into the ego vehicle and provided for driving the ego vehicle, and in particular used for that purpose. As the vehicle-external source, a backend server or computer of a social network may be provided for example, or a computer provided in a stationary or mobile form in the neighboring vehicle, in particular a mobile radio or smartphone device or tablet PC provided in the neighboring vehicle.
By means of the provided control information for driving the ego vehicle, a system for the fully or partially automated driving of the ego vehicle may also be activated, in particular a system for the automatic longitudinal and/or lateral guidance of the ego vehicle and in particular for the highly automated driving of the ego vehicle.
In order to assign an attribute to the neighboring vehicle, information in relation to the vehicle driver and/or vehicle owner of the respective vehicle that is in the environment of the ego vehicle may also be gathered and/or processed. The information gathered in relation to the neighboring vehicle and/or further information may comprise in particular the official license number of the neighboring vehicle and/or data in relation to the age, sex or identity of the vehicle driver driving this vehicle, it being possible for this information to be gathered and/or provided at least partially by use of a computer that is independent of the vehicle. The data may also include historical information, for example in relation to earlier hazardous situations of the neighboring vehicle and/or vehicle driver, such as for example in relation to accidents or in relation to road traffic offences.
Also provided within the scope of the invention is a corresponding, electronic system for assisting the driving of an ego vehicle that has components with which the functions described here, and in particular method steps, can be carried out. Also provided is a vehicle that has a corresponding electronic system and also a computer program that brings about a corresponding method when it is loaded and run on a computer.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.